Jordan condemns Israeli minister's storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry condemned the provocative entry of Israel's far-right national security minister itamar ben-gvir into the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif on Thursday morning.

 The minister was accompanied by Israeli occupation forces in what Jordan described as an "unacceptable and reprehensible act that violates the historical and legal status quo of the site and Israel's obligations as an occupying force in East Jerusalem," according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Sufian Qudah, the ministry's spokesperson, reiterated the Kingdom’s unequivocal rejection and condemnation of the Israeli minister's actions.

He described the incursion as a flagrant violation of international law and an attempt to impose a temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites, Qudah stressed.

He further noted that Israel's unilateral actions and continued violations of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem demand a firm and clear response from the international community.

He called for immediate international action to hold Israel accountable, compel it to respect the sanctity of Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem, and put an end to its violations.

Qudah also stressed the urgent need to stop the crimes against the Palestinian people, especially as Israel's aggressive war on Gaza continues to cause an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

He reiterated Jordan's firm stance that the entire 144-dunum Al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy site reserved exclusively for Muslim worship. He also stressed that the Jerusalem Waqf Administration, under the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, is the sole legal authority responsible for managing Al-Haram Al-Sharif and regulating access to it.

Ben Gvir has repeatedly defied the Israeli government's longstanding ban on Jewish prayer at the site in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, which has been a focal point of tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Al-Aqsa Compound in Jerusalem's Old City is Islam's third-holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry said in a statement that it "condemns" Ben Gvir's latest visit, calling his prayer at the site a "provocation to millions of Palestinians and Muslims."